Text Messages Lead to Arrest of Armed Robbery Suspects

Police officers from District 3 of the Milwaukee Police Department arrested two armed robbery suspects after text messages were sent to the victim. The victim, a 22-year-old woman, was robbed of her cell phone at approximately 2:30 am on May 31 in the 2100 block of W. Wells Street. Later that day, the victim received calls and texts on another cell phone from the suspects who stated they were holding the phone for ransom. The phone number listed to a home in the 1600 block of N. 38th Street and officers continued their investigation there. At approximately 11:35 pm, a Marquette Public Safety officer alerted Milwaukee Police after locating two suspects matching the description in the 2300 block of W. Wells Street.

The suspects, a 14-year-old Milwaukee male and a 15-year-old Milwaukee male, were taken into custody. During the course of the interview, one of the suspects told officers that he lives with his mother and provided a phone number for her. This number was the same number that had texted the victim’s cell phone. The case will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office in the coming days.